Residency Program

Residents and many faculty members gather on Thursday mornings for three short presentations (each consists of ten minutes of presentation and five minutes of questions) on Keyword Phrases from the In-Service Training Examination. Over the year, this provides a comprehensive review for the Exam.

Each CA-II and CA-III resident has the opportunity to participate in a Practice Oral Examination once per year. We can draw on six faculty members who are currently or have been, examiners for the American Board of Anesthesiology. This provides a very authentic experience and contributes to our graduates having great success passing the ABA’s oral exams towards certification!

The University of Kansas Medical Center provides a dynamic place for clinical anesthesiology training. We can pick from 18,000 cases per year for resident training. These cases are typical of a large urban medical center. Besides routine, basic surgical procedures, our highly specialized surgical colleagues challenge us with their advanced procedures. We perform anesthetics for all manner of procedures: cardiac surgery including percutaneous valves; organ transplantation; neurosurgery; high risk obstetrics; trauma, including burns; complicated robotic orthopedic; pediatric; plastic; urologic; ophthalmologic; ENT; and radiologic. Our residents are well versed in evaluation of these patients preoperatively and in their postoperative and recovery room care. Our regional anesthesia team and our acute and chronic pain management teams complete the training of superb perioperative physicians. Elective rotations in pediatrics and obstetric anesthesia at outside hospitals within the community provide a chance to access clinical experience and expertise in these areas.

How do we assess progress for each resident? Clinical progress is measured twice a week by attending faculty through use of a tailored electronic evaluation form. It looks at all areas of clinical patient care activities. The Director of Residency Education collates these, and they are relayed to the residents by faculty evaluation teams to which residents are assigned at the beginning of their residency. We also use the Anesthesia Knowledge Test (three examinations during the CA-I year and one during the CA-II year) to help us gauge resident progress. The In-Service Training Examination is a major focus to evaluate each resident’s longitudinal progress and to assess the educational mission of the department and we will be adding the American Board of Anesthesiology Staged Examination system.

We believe that a resident must have the tools to develop professionally. We have a generous book purchase program to build a home library for each resident, and we provide four journal subscriptions. Of course, our departmental library is fully stocked with books and electronic resources!

In addition to bringing in national experts to the Symposium and lecture schedules, we believe residents should be exposed to new and different ideas by attendance at a national meeting each year. We provide a generous stipend and a week of meeting time every year for this.

To focus on only the didactics and clinical experience would be to miss the essence of our program. We have a young, aggressive faculty, committed to providing an excellent atmosphere for learning, developing and questioning. We believe that residency can be fun as well as hard work, and by having fun together, we can make the hard work easier.

Resident Job Description (from the Resident Manual)

“Anesthesiology residents will provide, consistent with their level of training and expertise, anesthesia for all types of patients within the goals and objectives of the anesthesiology curriculum under the supervision of faculty anesthesiologists. This shall include preoperative evaluation, creation of an anesthetic plan, implementation of the plan, management of emergence and postoperative pain control and postoperative visitation.

The resident will participate in out-of-KUMC rotations as scheduled by the Program Director or his designee. The resident will participate in rotations including Pain Clinic, Post-Anesthetic Care Unit, Critical Care Units, and Same Day Surgery Center as assigned by the Program Director or his designee. The resident will take call as scheduled by the Program Director or his designee.

The resident will participate in all academic conferences, lectures, and Grand Rounds as scheduled by the Program Director or his designee.

The resident shall perform all other duties and functions as necessary to complete the American Board of Anesthesiology Continuum of Education under the direction of the Program Director or his designee.”

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Resident Agreement

Resident Agreements are available for review on the KUMC School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education web site.

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Application Process

After completing the application process, selected applicants will be asked to come to the Department of Anesthesiology for an interview. Dr. Unruh will be able to answer many of your questions about the department and Kansas City in general. You will also meet our Chair, Dr. Khan and have the opportunity to visit with several of the faculty on the selection committee. You will have ample time to ask any questions you might have. We will provide time outside the hospital with our residents which allows you the chance to ask questions freely and discuss any topics you wish. You will be given a tour of the facilities, including our simulator room, classroom, and residents library. Rest assured that we will do everything possible to make sure that your interview trip is enjoyable and informative. If you have any questions about the interview process call 913-588-3304.

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For more information

Contact Phyllis Campbell, Residency Program Administrator, 913-588-3304.